Walsh Jesuit routs Canfield for girls soccer regional championship

Pat Galbincea, Plain Dealer Reporter, November 07, 2009 9:42 p.m.

Rocky River, Ohio - You can't win a soccer match when you don't take a shot on goal.

That was the biggest problem the Canfield girls had to deal with Saturday afternoon in losing, 5-0, in a Division I regional final to undefeated Walsh Jesuit at Rocky River High School.

The Warriors, 18-0-2, will face Medina in a state semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Rocky River. The two schools drew, 1-1, in the regular season.

Walsh Jesuit was so dominant against the Cardinals, who bow out at 13-3-6, that the Warriors outshot Canfield, 18-0. Warriors goalies Erin Flynn and Kaela Segerson, both juniors, never touched a ball until 7:19 was left in the game, when Segerson picked up a slow rolling ball in a nonsave situation.

Even a gusty south wind couldn't stop the Warriors, who played into it in the first half. Freshman sensation Sandra Yu, a National team player, scored two goals in the first 40 minutes and now has 11 on the season.

Yu's first goal came with 34:04 left in the half. Junior midfielder Elizabeth Bollinger fired a shot from 17 yards that went off the hands of Canfield goalie Jackie Podolsky. The ball bounded right back to Yu, who then scored.

With 11:40 left in the half, sophomore midfielder Christen Westphal flicked the ball to Yu on a breakaway. Her shot from 16 yards deflected off Podolsky's hand and slipped inside the post.

"I'm adjusting to the style of high school soccer, which is harder than playing on the National team," Yu said. "But I like the family atmosphere of high school soccer. The first goal came because I was in the right place off a rebound. But that second goal, Christen sent a beautiful ball over the top of a defender and made it easy for me.

"Is it hard to score on a breakaway? No. Just don't shoot too wide and keep the ball low because goalies won't get to it."

With the wind in the second half, Walsh Jesuit was even more dominant as Bollinger, junior Kelsey Smigel and freshman Maddy John all scored on breakaway goals. John scored with only 11 seconds left in the game.

Warriors sweeper Alexis Gable, a junior, cut off most of Canfield's attacks well away from the goal. Canfield high-scoring striker Audrey Smith (19 goals, six assists) was her special target.

"Well, I think our offense made it easy for us today," Gable said. "Brianna Kanz in front of me also gets the job done. If the team needs me, I'm there."

Warriors coach Dino McIntyre said he was surprised Canfield played defensively with the wind.

"You have to beware of teams that have a Hoosier mentality," McIntyre said. "But our girls today played just great. Yu is already a good player, so physically strong but she has a burning desire to be the best . . . and only a few players have that."